The present invention relates to a module carrier with a plug module which is introducible by means of guides in a housing and which is provided with at least one insertion and removal grip in the form of a lever which is journalled on an axle at its front side in order to overcome thrust-in and draw-out forces at multiple plugs which are attached at the rear side through a bracing at a front-side housing profile.
A front system for a flat module with active-passive switching is shown in WO 96/42187 which samples an insertion position of the flat module via a switching element independently of whether a latching has actually occurred or not. An unintentional non-latching in of a lock as well as a displacement of the switching point in the push-in direction can lead to switching states which are in contradiction to the mechanical situation.
It is an object of the invention to create a reliable latching for module carriers with plug modules. This object is satisfied in that, for an insertion and removal grip, an additional spring-actuated lock is attached to the front side which compulsorily locks the lever in a rear final position of the plug module and which, after the unlocking of the lever, makes a locking of the lever possible only when the lever is rotated at least by an angle xcex1xe2x89xa7xcex5 in the moving-out direction and back again into the rear final position, with the angle xcex5 representing an overlapping by means of which the lock blocks itself in the unlocked position at a guide surface of the lever, whereas when the lever is rotated by an angle xcex1xe2x89xa7xcex5 and back the lock is held by the guide surface in a further unlocked position.
This arrangement has the advantage that it monitors the effectiveness of the locking of the insertion and removal grip.
A further advantage consists in that the spatial arrangement of lever and lock is carried out so adeptly that the spatial and technical switching requirements of the norms
IEEE STANDARD 1101.10
HOT SWAP SPECIFICATION PICMG 2.1 R1.0
VME 64 EXTENSIONS STANDARD VITA 1.1-199X, DRAFT 2.0 can be fulfilled.
According to the invention, one advantage results in that the lock, after an effective locking position has been reached, actuates a switching element for an active switching of the plug module; and in that in a pressing down of the lock the latter effects a passive switching at the switching element before the lever is released by the lock.
The switching element is thereby actuated for the active switching only when a locking of the grip lever has taken place, and the electrically acting switching element is already passively switched when the locking releases the grip lever. A further advantage is present in an unintentional pressing down of the locking, since on the one hand a passive switching must already have taken place when the lock is held in the unlocked position and on the other hand a minimum rotation forwards and backwards of the grip lever must take place before a locking with subsequent activation of the switching element can take place again at all.
When the lock is pressed down the latter blocks itself out of the locked position in an unlocked position without the active influence of other elements, and with the rotation of the lever the latter blocks the lock in an unlocked position until it has again reached the rear final position with the plug module. The actual locking takes place compulsorily through a spring when the rear final position has been reached. This has the advantage that the actuation of the switching element always takes place through the spring, which is under the same bias force, and is not affected by the speed and the strikings during the moving in of the plug module. Because the lock is guided independently of the lever in a straight guide at the front side of the plug module, the lever need not be moved in order to come into an unlocking position. The lever cannot begin with rotation in the thrust-out direction until an abutment at the lock, which is arranged counter to the direction of rotation of the lever, has been moved out.
A blow to the locked lever also causes no chatter at the switching element since the lock is supported in the switching direction of the switching element independently of the lever.
The advantages of the mechanical locking can also be exploited without an electrical switching element. Thus a second mirrored lever with a locking at the other end of the front side of a plug module can be provided in order to facilitate the levering in and out and to achieve merely a further locking of the plug module in the moved in state. In an arrangement of this kind an additional screw connection between the front plate and the housing profile can be dispensed with, so that only forwardly running centering pins engage at the housing profile in order to take up lateral forces.
Since an overlap angle xcex5 between the lever and the lock sets in when the unlocked state is reached, by a minimum of which the lever must be rotated before a locked position can again be reached through a rotating back of the lever, it is advantageous when the angle xcfx86 for the flank change for thrusting out is greater than the overlap angle xcex5. This causes the return from the unlocked state to the locked state to be possible without a movement taking place at the multiple plugs of the plug module which are attached at the rear side.
The lever and the lock are constructed in such a manner that they can be manufactured in each case in an injection molding process in an injection tool, with the essential function dimensions for the mutual engagement being tool-bound dimensions. The manufacturing tolerances are correspondingly small, which effects a great reliability for the functioning.
In another embodiment of the invention the plug module has a lock without a spring element in the form of a leaf spring. This alternative lock has no overlapping angle xcex5, which prevents immediate locking, if the lever is unlocked, but it has all other advantages shown and described for FIGS. 1 to 6.